Don't 'Cha Know?
by The Beckster
Summary: Rated T for strong language. After a horrible accident Marie finds herself in the supposedly fictitous world of Jak and Daxter. Placed in the middle of an inter city war, all she wants is to go home. Where's a pair of Ruby Slippers when you need one? R&R.
1. Chapter 1

So, I am trying something new for me. I'm not exactly sure how well this little idea of mine will work out, or really where this story will go. I know how I wanted it to begin and how it will end. But don't worry, my creative juices will flow and something will come out of my head to fill those inbetween spaces. :D oh yes, my plan. I am building this entire story around a single phrase "Don't you know....?" each chapter will end with with someone saying "Don't you know.....?" and the things that happen before that will lead up to the key phrase. I'm really not sure how well this will work for me, I've never tried this before. So tell me what you think about it.

This story takes place in the Jak 3 time, but it really is not centered around Jak and ganng (they will deff show up but I want to focus on Marie and Neil more) This is rated T for language. I based Marie off of meand what she says in situations I would say, except with a few less words that begin with F and rhyme with truck. Actually there wont be any of those words, but any other word will probably show up at least once. Enjoy reading! Please review, I really appreciate critiques, but please not flamers.

Oh speaking of critiques. I was so excited about getting this up that i forgot to scan it for grammar mistakes. :( sorry. I'll get around to looking it over soon. I promise. And i may get a Beta to help me too. Alright, I'm done talking now. Read and enjoy!

-The Beckster

* * *

Marie sighed as she gazed out her window. She could see her favorite Sweet Gum tree swaying back and forth dangerously in the violent winds, a black shadow against the indigo sky. Wind storms like this weren't common; she was afraid a tree would fall on someone's house. She turned back to her essay.

"Stupid teachers." She grumbled out loud to no one, "Juniors don't need to work on _Senior_ research papers!" She took her glasses off and rubber her eyes sighing again. It was mostly her fault for procrastinating until the day before her rough draft was due, but she had better things to think about, like play Jak X with her brother for hours on end. A loud cracking sound made her snap her head around to look out her window. She whipped herself in the face with her ponytail from the force of turning so quickly. She barely made out the shape of a large limb from the oak tree that belonged to her neighbors across the street fall in the middle of the street.

"Damn…" she whispered to herself, "It's like a hurricane out there." She turned back to her laptop and continued working on her paper. Two AM rolled around and Marie triumphantly turned off her laptop. She would print off the stupid essay in the morning; assuming they still had power. The wind continued to beat against the house violently. Marie could barely tell if there were still trees standing, but the slightly darker figures in the black shy being violently whipped around were definitely trees. Marie brushed her teeth, ended up tripping over her cat in the dark hallway and made it to her room before the power went out. She was instantly washed in blackness and she cursed herself for being such a slob as she stubbed her bare toes against her dresser. Gingerly she groped her way to the foot of her bed and then crawled up to the top. She took her glasses off and set them on the book case next to her bed. _At least my alarm is battery powered._ She thought sleepily as she gazed at the blurry numbers before she fell asleep.

Marie didn't know what woke her. Some sound pulled her out of her peaceful sleep. _Damn that cat._ She thought angrily as she stumbled to her door. She opened the door, but there was no furry cat running between her legs to sleep on the bed. _What the hell? _She closed the door angrily and walked back to bed. CRACK! There was that noise again. Marie looked out the window trying to see what was making the noise. It sounded like a gunshot.

CRACK! Marie saw what was making that noise. Pure terror petrified her as she realized the Sweet Gum tree was falling towards the house. She tried to get away, but the tree was falling too fast. "Oh shit." She uttered. Desperately she covered her head with her arms and hoped her death would be quick. CRASH! The tree fell through the house right into her room.

*

_I'm dead, _Marie thought, _I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead._

_If you're dead then why does it hurt?_ A mysterious voice said in her head.

_Oh God, I'm dying! I lay broken and beaten. I can feel the splintered tree pushing through my back. I'm sure if I open my eyes I will see blood. Broken bones, large pieces of wood pushed through my chest. I'm dying slowly and painfully!_

_Open your eyes… _the voice whispered sweetly.

Marie reluctantly opened her eyes. She gazed up at some ruined buildings. _This isn't my house!_ She thought panicking. The sky was a light blue. "What the f-?" She said sitting up quickly, instantly wishing she hadn't. Sharp stabbing pains shot through her legs cutting her off mid sentence. She was lying on a pile of rubble. She could see indents in her arms where the rocks were pushing onto her skin and she knew that some of the larger marks would leave bruises. Cursing silently she stood up weakly and tried to walk off the pile of rubble. Her bruised and weak legs gave out a few times and she fell cutting her arms and hands on the sharper rocks. Her bare feet were already cut and bleeding, but she didn't notice. Marie walked over to a wall of one of the still standing buildings. She leaned against the wall and slid down it to the ground.

"Where am I?" she thought out loud. She noticed she was still in her pajamas; her favorite purple plaid flannel pants, the old holey gray short shorts under her pants, and her "I *heart* Woody" from marching band. Marie sat there for a while trying to collect her bearings and find out where she was. She had this uncanny feeling like she had been here before, but she knew for a fact that there weren't any ruined cities anywhere near her house, and she was NOT at home anymore.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto." Marie said to herself as she stood up. She wandered around in a daze, not knowing where she was going or what she was looking for.

*

Neil was the first one to notice the dazed civilian wandering around the blast site. "Captain?" he called out "Do you see that civie wandering around the blast site?"

"I don't see anything, soldier. Get back to work."

"No look!" he pointed, "She just walked out from behind that piece of wall."

The Captain raised his visor on his helmet to get a better look, "Well I'll be… Neil, get over there and grab her. Civilians aren't allowed in this area! I'll stop the blast until you get back here."

"Yes, Sir." Neil saluted the Captain and sprinted out from behind the barricade. "Hey you! Civilian! Stop!"

Marie stopped and gazed blankly at Neil as he sprinted towards her. Neil was shocked by her looks. She was bruised and bleeding, she wasn't wearing any shoes, her pants were torn in the knees and her bloody knees had soaked through. Her long, brown hair hung past her shoulders. It was thick and would be curly if it wasn't caked in dust and frizzed. She had a soft round face and a blank dazed expression. There was a nasty cut above her eye and the blood had trickled down her cheek. She looked awful.

"What are you doing out here?" He said as he ran up to her. "Come on, it's dangerous around here. The metal heads or MKG might get you. Come on." He gently grabbed her arm and tugged her after her, he didn't like being so close to the blast site, on the other side of the mountain of rubble the area was swarming with metal heads. Maria just followed him blindly. She stumbled a few times as her legs tried to remember how to run but eventually she got the hang of it.

Neil heard a familiar low tone. "Damn it! They said they would stop the blast!" They were still a good fifty feet away from the barricade; they couldn't get to safety in time. "Run faster!" he shouted pulling on Marie's arm harder as he started to sprint. Suddenly there wasn't an arm in his hands. He turned and saw Marie lying on the ground. He ran back to her and heaved her to her feet. "Come on!"

Neil knew their time was up for running. The tone rose in pitch and he pushed Marie into the doorway of one of the nearby buildings before slamming himself in front of her trying to shield her from the blast. Neil was knocked down to the ground from the shock of the blast. Small pieced of debris rained down on him. Neil saw he was lying on top of Marie and he rolled off of her. She stared blankly off into space. Neil gently sat her up and shook her shoulder. "You alright?"

Marie didn't say anything, but Neil saw her eyes focus on something past his shoulder and a brief moment of recognition flashed in her eyes. Neil glanced over his shoulder and saw a Metal head charging straight at them. He went to grab his gun off his back but it wasn't there. He looked around and saw it a few feet away, just out of arms reach. He lunged for his gun and shot the charging metal head. One, two, three it fell to the ground dead just a short yard away from where Marie sat looking more shocked than dazed.

"Move!" Neil yelled at her as he yanked her up by her arms to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her along while shooting at more metal heads. He looked back to where the blast had been. Metal heads were streaming out of the hole in impossible numbers. Bullets screamed through the air getting many of the charging metal heads. Some went down and were trampled to death; others took a hit and kept on running.

Marie slowly began to realize why this place looked so familiar. The soldier's blue armor had been one clue, but the metal heads had solidified her question. Shocked she slowed down just a few feet from the safety of the barricade. Neil tugged harder at her pulling her behind the barricade. They ran past the front line of barricades until they reached the back of the battalion. He sat her down and shook her by the shoulders. "What's wrong with you?" he yelled at her, "Don't you know there's a war going on?"

* * *

See there it is my story centric line! hahaha!

Alright, Well I was going to tell you how old Marie and Neil are, but now I believe I will put that in a future chapter. *strokes chin thoughtfully* Maybe I will have more shower time inspirations. Well I have a four day weekend from school so if you are following any other stories from me check them for new chapters. If you haven't i highly suggest that you go and check them out. I like to get a lof of opinions on my stories. :D I'm a review whore what can I say? hahaha! alright. Thank's for reading chapter 1, I hope you will stick with the story and read it through to the end. Thanks again!

Again, Sorry for any horrendous grammar! :D

-Becks


	2. Chapter 2

Alright, this is officially the longest chapter I've written for anything. 9 pages of 12 pt. font in Word. Haha.

Hello, again. I hope you liked Chapter 1. It was put together rather quickly, but just so you know I did spend more time on chapter 2. I even went back and re read it 3 times and caught some obvious typos spell check missed. :D I really hope you like this story. Please review, tell me what you think of the story, how bad my grammar is, ect. I really appreciante your feed back. Now, are you ready to see where I take Marie and Neil in this long chapter of "Don't 'Cha Know?"

I do not own Jak 3 or anything affiliated with the Jak and Daxter Universe. Marie and Neil belong to me. I made them up.

Enjoy reading!

-Becks

* * *

Marie couldn't believe it. It was impossible. But all the pieces fell together; the familiar blue armor, the long pointed ears of her rescuer, the metal heads! It just couldn't be possible that she had slipped into the fictional world of Jak 3 … but it was. "It's not possible. It can't be" she muttered repeatedly.

*

Neil studies the girl carefully. She has lost her blank stare, but she looked shocked. She kept muttering the same thing over and over. Neil saw she was staring intently at his ears.

"Are you alright?" he asked her gently. The girl opened her mouth to say something but no coherent words came out of her mouth. Suddenly her eyes rolled back and she fainted and fell forwards into Neil's chest plate. Neil saw there was a large bloody stain on her back.

"Medic! I need a medic over here!" He yelled as he shifted the girl around to where she was laying in his arms bridal style, her head rolling back. The medic team ran over and the instant they saw the blood on her shirt they tore it off. Neil blushed when he saw the girl wasn't wearing anything under the shirt.

"It looks like she fell on a sharp rock or something." One medic said.

"She could have severe spinal and nerve damage, not to mention all her other wounds are filled with dirt. If she doesn't end up losing a limb to infections it would be a miracle." The other replied. They wrapped her back up to stop some of the bleeding before she lost anymore blood.

"We don't have the equipment to fully treat her here. You!" She said turning to Neil, "Get leave to take this civilian to the League's hospital. An-" Suddenly a yell for medics cut her off and made them all turn their heads; Neil's captain was supporting one of his fellow soldiers over to the medics. The soldier was missing his left leg from the knee down, he was bleeding heavily and Neil saw a trace of dark eco from the metal head that had attacked him. The sight made Neil want to vomit. He could decapitate one hundred metal heads and bathe in their blood, but the human blood and the missing limb was just too much. This was a person, not some animal. "We're needed here! You have to take her." The medic finished, she placed Marie in Neil's arms.

"But I …. Wha-?" Neil stammered as the half naked girl was placed in his arms. He was glad the visor on his helmet was down so no one could see the deep red his face had turned. Neil stood up and looked around for someone of rank to get leave from. Neil spotted his section's colonel having a heated argument with the head explosives director.

"Why the hell didn't you stop that blast? You almost killed a civilian and a soldier!"

"That wasn't us Colonel! Our charges were disabled so the boy could get to the civie, we did not blow that wall."

"Are you telling me the metal heads have explosives now?!?"

"They probably found them in some ruins or stole them from the MKG. They were military grade explosives."

"Colonel!" Neil called, the two men turned to face him. Neil stopped for a moment and wondered how he was supposed to salute the two higher ranked men with the girl in his arms.

"At ease, soldier. What do you want?" the Colonel demanded.

"The medics say she needs to be taken to the hospital, they can't treat her here and they want her to go now. She may have spinal cord damage. They told me to take her. Requesting permission to take leave to fulfill that duty, Sir."

"Leave granted, soldier, make sure that Civilian get to the hospital safe and sound." With that the Colonel turned back to the Explosives director.

Neil set off from the battle at a paced jog. He pointedly looked ahead of him while he was running for the sake of giving the girl some dignity. He knew if he was being carried around half naked and his junk was hanging out he wouldn't want people staring at it the whole time. Neil noticed the girl was heavier than she initially looked, but he was used to carrying things heavier than her over long treks, the short run to the hospital would be nothing.

**

When Marie opened her eyes everything was dark, completely dark. _Oh God! I've gone blind!_ She thought frantically. She shut her eyes to try and block out the prospect of being blind and though to herself, _I've had a tree fall on me, I've ended up in a video game, and now I'm blind! Well, at least the pain is gone._ Marie felt warm, comfortable, and safe. As quickly as she woke up she fell back asleep.

When Marie woke up next it was much slower and calmer. She saw she was staring at a white tile ceiling. Weak early morning sunlight filtered through the room's window which was covered by slat blinds. Her eyes flicked lazily to the walls which were painted a pleasant pale green. She turned her head and noticed there was a figure dozing in a chair by the window.

_Wait a minute!_ She basically screamed in her head, _This isn't my room!_ She sat up suddenly "What the fu- Arggh!" she instantly wished she hadn't sat up. Her entire torso was bandaged and she felt like she just tore it wide opened and dumped acid in it.

The figure in the chair jerked awake. He whispered something into a communicator and rushed over to the bed. "Please, lay down, you will only hurt yourself more." He said gently pushing on Marie's shoulders. She complied and lay there breathing shallowly trying to avoid any more pain. She turned her head to look at the guy who was gently holding her down. She was going to ask him to let go of her but her words stuck in her throat. She was looking at the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt and she could clearly see the strong muscular body underneath the shirt, his face was familiar too.

"McSteamy…?" she asked weakly, utterly confused.

"Who?" he asked just as confused as she was.

"Never mind, you look like someone I know…" she trailed off and got lost in his deep brown eyes.

"Umm, okay… I'm going to let go of you now, just stay lying down alright, you don't want to hurt yourself more." Marie nodded and he let go of her and stepped away a little from the side of the bed.

Now that she wasn't losing herself in Neil's eyes and dreaming about his muscular body in the Speedo she remembered from the swim meet back on Earth Marie started to look around the room again. She was confused, angry, and scared. _How the hell did I get into Jak 3, and why hasn't anyone said anything about my obviously short and round ears?_

"So, what's your name?" Neil asked trying to break the awkward silence.

"I go by my middle name, just call me Marie." She replied.

"Marie, that's a nice name. Why do you go by your middle name?"

Marie snorted, "You would too if your mother named you Constance Marie … sometimes I wonder what goes through her head when she's thinking up baby names."

Marie started to laugh half heartedly and Neil chuckled along with her. Suddenly they both stopped, they heard voices stopping outside the door. Neil practically jumped away from the bed and stood in the chair in a strict attention. Marie thought it looked more like parade rest, his feet were shoulder width apart and his arms were clasped behind his back. He held his chin high and looked straight at the door in the most neutral face Marie had ever seen anyone pull off. She noticed there was an emblem sewn onto the front of Neil's shirt "F.L." _Freedom League_, she thought. The door opened and in strode a doctor a two nurses and a few military personnel.

"At ease." One of the military men barked at Neil, who relaxed a little but he still kept the neutral expression. "I didn't expect you to stay here the whole night, Neil." The man said this time a little more warmly, though not by much.

"I saw it as my duty to make sure this civilian made a full recovery, Captain. That, and I was concerned for her when she woke up, she was unstable when we rescued her yesterday. I wanted to make sure she did not harm herself further."

Neil's captain nodded, "Yes, that makes sense."

"Sir, may I ask, how did the battle fare after I left to bring the civilian to the hospital for treatment?"

"The attack was not very well planned out from the metal heads. After the initial rush it was easy to pick them off. We cleared the area out and set a new force field, they should be out of that sector for good now."

"I am pleased to hear the mission was a success. I felt bad for leaving the battle, Sir, but the medics said she needed immediate medical attention and they had more pressing matters."

"Understood, Soldier. Doctor, has the civilian made a full recovery?" The captain said turning to the doctor and the nurses.

"Our scans say she has made a full recovery, there has been no damage to her spine, all her wounds show no signs of infection and she is showing no head trauma. The only thing she has left that needs to heal are her broken ribs." The doctor said, putting a Star Trek-y looking device away. Marie hadn't even noticed he was scanning her; she was so engrossed in the conversation between the captain and Neil. _Battle? Spinal Damage? Head Trauma? What the fuck happened to me? _She thought. Marie was brought back to her thoughts when she felt a slight piercing right below her arm.

"AHH!" she cried as she jerked her arm away from the nurse who was holding a syringe in her hand."S-sorry, I just don't like needles. I wasn't expecting to feel my skin being pierced. Sorry." She placed her arm back where it had been and gritted her teeth and looked away while the nurse drew a small blood sample.

The other nurse smiles sympathetically while Marie's blood was being drawn, "It's alright; the drugs wearing off will make you a little jumpy. It's nothing to worry about."

Marie noticed to her embarrassment that everyone in the room had looked at her when she had yelled. Her face flushed red and she asked "Can I sit up? I'm tired of seeing the ceiling and people's hips."

The nurses helped her sit up "Be careful and tell us if anything hurts too much, you broke some ribs." Marie took a sharp breath in as she sat up and the nurses stopped helping her up for a moment until she assured them she was fine. Looking around the room Marie noticed someone else had joined the military personnel, Ashelin.

"Oh what the hell! This is impossible!" Marie basically shouted when she saw Ashelin. The nurses looked at her concerned "No no, nothing hurts. I'm fine." The nurse on her left handed her a blanket to throw over her shoulders now that she was uncovered by the sheets. It was then that Marie realized her torso was completely wrapped in gauze and tape that stopped half way up her chest, and she didn't have anything else on to cover her. She snatched the blanket and wrapped herself up quickly; she blushed an even deeper red. No one in the room seemed fazed by the half naked teenager and she quickly calmed herself.

"How do you feel?" The doctor asked Marie.

"Like I just stepped into a fucked up fanfic!" she snapped. Everyone looked at her questioningly, except Ashelin, she continued to glare at Marie with a cold, uncaring stare. "Don't you find anything strange about me?" Marie asked exasperated by their inobservance, no one replied, "Are you all blind? Look at my goddamned ears they're fucking sho-", Marie cut herself off as she touched her ears, they weren't her short and round human ears, they were long and pointy, like everyone else's. "What the hell is going on here?" Marie asked extremely unnerved.

"Calm down, dear." The doctor said kindly, "You were put under heavy pain medications; you will be a little delusional, just calm down."

Marie took a few deep breaths. She did an old band breathing exercise, in for four and out for eight, it always calmed her down. "Alright, I'm calm. What happened to me? How did I get in the hospital?" She looked around at each of the faces in the room

"Actually, we were hoping _you_ may be able to explain that to us." The captain said.

Marie shook her head. "All I remember was being at home and then I woke up on a pile of rubble in a destroyed part of the town. I was in my pajamas and barefoot and I don't know how I got there." Marie decided now was not the time to tell them she was from Earth; they all probably would have cast it off as the drugs anyways.

"Don't you remember anything that happened after that?" the captain pressed.

"I already told you no!" Marie snapped, she was starting to get a head ache and she longed for nothing more than to sink into the soft bed and sleep.

"Well, here's what we know." The captain said, ignoring her snap, "We found you wandering around a battle zone dazed. Like you said you were in you pajamas, they were torn, bloody and basically ruined rags. You were seriously injured and you almost got yourself blown to bits. If Neil here hadn't seen you before we blasted the wall to ambush the metal heads you would be dead. After retrieving you from the blast site he brought you here to be treated for your injuries."

Marie closed her eyes, she vaguely remembered the metal heads and someone in blue armor grabbing her and running before the explosion. That's how she knew she was in Haven and this had to be an impossible dream, but the pain in her aching body told her differently. This was no dream, this was real.

"What we want to know," Ashelin said moving forward until she was face to face with Marie, "Is; why were you outside the protected areas? Did you have any plan to sabotage the attack against the metal heads?"

Ashelin was so intense, much more intimidating in person that when she was bitching on the game, Marie started to silently cry. "N-n-no. I don't know how I got out there. I-I've told you everything I can remember." Ashelin backed off and looked at the sobbing teenager in distaste.

"Commander, I doubt anyone in the state she was found in would be planning any sort of sabotage. My suspicion is that she was taken from her home and then thrown out into the unprotected areas by some idiot. There are still people like that in the slums you know." The doctor said coolly. "Now I'm telling you to leave the girl alone and let her rest. She should be set for release tomorrow afternoon if you wish to question her anymore."

"Fine," Ashelin snapped, she turned to Neil "You stay and watch her, report if she does anything suspicious." She glared at the doctor and basically dared him to defy her, but the doctor seemed alright with these arrangements.

Neil nodded, "Yes, Commander." And he stood at attention as the other military personnel left the room. The nurses started to check the dressings on Marie's wounds and change them if needed. They gave Marie some drugs to ease the pain. The doctor walked over and whispered something in Neil's ear before he left. The nurses soon followed him, the kinder one telling Marie to rest.

Marie settled back in the bed and sighed slightly at the dull aching pain in her chest. Neil walked over to the chair and sat down in it again.

"So, what did the doc have to say?" Marie asked randomly, not quite ready to go to sleep again.

"He was just telling me to call if anything should change. He's my uncle you know." Neil replied.

"Hmmm, uncle…. That's nice." Marie was starting to feel sleepy and her eye lids were getting heavier and heavier, she eventually settled for keeping them closed. After a while she spoke up again, "Has Jak returned to the city yet?"

"How do you know about his banishment?" Neil asked, instantly on alert for any strange activity.

"I've played the game," Marie stated, not thinking clearly anymore, "The Palace is destroyed and I know he was banished after that. Just tell Ashelin to keep bugging him to come back to the city, and give him his seal back, that will be useful...."

Neil had no idea what she was talking about, "You're not from around here are you?" he asked cautiously.

Marie was silent for a minute and Neil thought she fell asleep but she replied quietly, "No, to me this is a fictional universe, I live on Earth….." She drifted off at the end of her sentence again and Neil listened to her breathing as it slowed down to a regular rhythm, she was asleep._ It's gotta be the drugs,_ Neil thought, _that was just crazy talk._

**

Marie was released from the hospital the next afternoon, she still had her chest taped up for her broken ribs, but everything else had healed fine thanks to the Green Eco. The hospital had given her some street clothes seeing as her rag pajamas and the hospital gown were not very good street attire.

"Skirts" Marie stated in disbelief, "Can't I have a pair of pants, or shorts?"

"Sorry," the kind nurse shrugged, we only have pants for men, and it helps us keep our clothes straight. Now stand still so I can guess your size."

_Of course they only have skirts._ Marie thought venomously. "Nothing mini, I don't like walking around the streets feeling like anyone can see up my skirt if I so much as bend a little."

The nurse chuckled and she pulled out a knee length skirt. It was made of a light and flowing purple material for the top part and underneath there was a thicker and darker purple material that was not flowing like the top part. It vaguely reminded Marie of a peasant skirt from Earth. "Do you like purple?" the nurse asked.

"Yeah, it's my favorite color." Marie took the skirt and tried it on, it fit perfectly. She slipped it off and held it waiting for more clothes. The nurse piled on a black tank top, which to Marie's delight covered all of her stomach unlike most of the tank tops she had seen worn in the games. The nurse then added a blue jacket made of what seemed like denim to the pile. Then she walked over to a pile of wrapped clothes and pulled out a pair of panties and a bra and tossed them to Marie. The she grabbed a pair of tall socks and asked "What size boot do you wear?"

Marie opened her mouth to reply her usual 9 and ½ but then realized that they probably didn't measure feet in the same way "I'm not sure… I don't remember"

The nurse brought over a measuring device and then went back and came with a pair of black boots. "Here, now go try everything on and we'll see how it fits." She pushes Marie to a small changing stall hidden in the corner of the clothes storage room.

To Marie's surprise everything fit perfectly, the skirt hit just right at her knees, the tank top didn't leave her stomach hanging out and it wasn't so low cut her boobs were hanging out, the jacket fit perfectly and she saw it was lined with something soft and warm. The boots fit perfectly too, they went to just above her ankle and she spent some time admiring her calves, the best feature on her she always thought, _Swimming does that I suppose, and marching._

She walked out of the stall and did a 360 for the nurse. "Well, it's not the most fashionable thing to wear, but no one will notice nor care."

"That's good because fashion has never been something that bothered me." Marie said. She turned to the nurse and smiled, "Thanks so much for being so kind. I've always been interested in medicine and nursing especially."

The nurse smiled, "It was no problem. You were a very nice person to care for."

"Thanks, ummm I don't suppose you have a hair brush I can borrow? And maybe a hair tie?"

The nurse laughed and walked over to another box full of wrapped things, "Here you go." She tossed a hair brush at Marie and a ring of hair ties. Marie brushed her hair and tied it back into the pseudo bun at the nape of her neck she always wore.

"Keep the hair brush and ties." The nurse said as she tossed a small pouch to Marie. She tied it around her waist and put the brush and hair ties in it.

"Thanks again, for everything." Marie said.

"Take care, Marie. I'd like to say I would love to see you soon, but then you would have to need medical attention, and I'd prefer you didn't." she laughed.

Marie laughed with her, "Well, hopefully I won't see you soon then." She walked out of the hospital feeling better than she had even when she was drugged up on pain killers.

**

Marie shivered in her jacket. It had gotten dark hours ago and she had wandered around the city blindly not knowing where she was going. After leaving the hospital she tried to find someplace to stay the night, but no place would take her in without any orbs. Marie thought she had wandered into the slums, the air smelled much fouler.

"Stop right there missy," a voice hissed out from the shadows of an alley.

Marie stopped in her tracks, the street was deserted; there was no one to help her and no one to whom the voice could have been speaking to.

"I'd cooperate if I were you." the greasy voice hissed again, "Come over here."

Marie was staring into the alley and she swore to God she saw a gun. She followed the voices orders. "What do you want? I don't have any money…" her voice shook and she heard multiple laughs echo around the dark alley.

A large and violent arm pulled her into the shadows and she was pressed against a rank body of a man. She gagged on his smell; he reeked of alcohol, sweat, dirt, and probably Haven's version of tobacco. Marie started to struggle but stopped when the sharp tip of a knife was held to her throat. Suddenly she felt a rough hand caressing her cheek. The voice spoke again, "Mmmmm, soft. She must be young." He laughed again and Marie heard three others echo his laughter, including the one that was holding her. Marie started to cry silently. She knew what was coming next. She was an idiot for not asking someone for help when it was still daylight. She couldn't see anything in the dark alley but suddenly some rough cloth covered her eyes.

The greasy voice whispered in her ear "Don't you know what happens when young ladies wander the streets alone?"

* * *

So, was it better? yes? no? I have an idea, how about you go and write a review up about it and tell me your feelings. :D

Alright, I will say it again what Marie says is what I would make connections to in my head, so McSteamy Mmmmm *daydreams about swim meets*, and all her marching band connections (I'm just a big band geek I basically eat sleep and breathe band) :D

Thanks for reading. I hope you will stick with me untill the end. if anyone has any idea what I could say for a good summary please say so because I know the one I have is BAD. Haha Summaries are not my strong point.

PLEASE review! Pretty please with surar and sprinkles on top! I will kiss you feet if you review! Okay.... not that but i really would like to see some feedback on my new story idea.

-Becks

Hmmmmm, it just occured to me that some of my readers may not know what marching band is exactly.... I know its mainly a USA thing b/c when my parents went to Australia last year they mentioned marching band and the people had no idea what it was. So if you're wondering what Marching Band is I'll be mappy to explain. :D (alright i swear I'm done talking now)


	3. Chapter 3

Alright. So here is Chapter 3. I guess it's okay. It's not my best, but it could be worse. I'm not to thrilled about the ending either, but I needed to finish this chapter so I can get working on the next one. Hopefully it will be a little more interesting. I've got a few more ideas rolling around my head for what could happen in the next few chapters... but they're only ideas. Sorry it took so long for this chaoter to get up. I've been really busy with school and I will keep being busy with school. Thanks for reading :D I would really love to see some more feedback on my story. I know a lot of people are reading this and if i could get some feedback I would feel a lot better. I do allow anonymous reviews so if you're a FF member but you don't feel like logging in that's okay. I do the same thing all the time. Haha. Please Read and Review! and as always Enjoy!

-Becks

* * *

_I hate these dawn patrols_, Neil thought mutinously,_ especially when it's raining_! Neil trudged through the muddy puddles in the slums. The sullen silence of the others in his patrol made Neil sure they were thinking the same thoughts

"My feet won't be dry for a month." Dana complained. A grunt from Kris was him agreeing with her.

"I'm so cold. I think my ears are going to fall off." Neil complained. Suddenly, as if to mock them it started raining harder. "Great," Neil muttered, "It's cold, pouring rain, and it's hardly light enough to see anything. The trio trudged through the silent slums in silence keeping their senses alert for any strange sounds. For an hour they met nothing, the only sounds were the beating rain, the occasional rumble of thunder, and their damp footsteps.

A muffled sound reached Neil's ears as they passed by an alley. He stopped and looked down the alley. Dana and Kris kept walking but stopped and went back to him also looking down the alley.

"What's the matter, Neil?" Dana whispered.

"I thought I heard something…" Neil breathed back, "There it is again. Let me get a light. I can't see into the dark alley." He fumbled with his gun and flipped on the light mounted on top. He swept the bright, narrow beam of light around the alley. The alley seemed empty until in a far corner he saw a scrap of purple fabric. Neil slowly walked into the alley, Dana and Kris follower him cautiously switching their lights on and sweeping the light around the alley in case there was anyone hiding in the shadows. Neil saw that the purple fabric was actually a skirt plastered to a pair of legs wearing black boots by the rain. The body was hidden behind a large barrel. The noise got louder as he inched closed, Neil could tell he had heard a dry shaky sobs. He heard quieter sobs following the loud ones and shaky heavy breathing.

"Hello?" Neil called out, but the dry sobs did not stop. Uneasily he moved around to face the crier. It was a girl, her long hair was soaked and he had her head buried in her arms which were wrapped around her legs.

"Hey!" Neil called out shining the light on the girl.

**

Marie had never been so cold in her life. She had lost track of how long she sat in the alley crying to herself; she didn't sleep all night. She had run out of tears hours ago and she continued to sob all night into the morning. She didn't remember when it had started raining, only that it made her more miserable. She had just stopped caring, she didn't care if she caught pneumonia; she only wanted to go home. She heard a voice calling out and she looked up fearfully. _Oh God, they've come back!_ She thought. There was a bright light shining in her eyes and she couldn't see who was in front of her.

**

"Marie?" Neil said aghast. "My God, what happened to you?" He crouched down to her level. She had a cut above her eye and there was a small mark on her neck. Her shirt was torn and her hair was untied and tangled and hung limp and soaking around her face. She was a mess. "Marie…" he said softly as he reached out to place his hand on her shoulder. He drew his hand back quickly when she recoiled and whimpered softly when she saw his hand go out towards her.

"Neil, what is it?" Dana called as she rounded the corner to see Marie, "Oh, by the Precursors! Isn't this the civie girl that we picked up the other day at the blast site?"

"Yeah." Neil replied, "I guess she was still a little lost after being released from the hospital yesterday. Why didn't she go home? Or find someplace to stay?"

"Maybe, because, she didn't have anywhere to go. We've got to get her out of the rain."

"She won't let me touch her. I have a bad feeling she was raped last night."

"Oh, poor child." Dana inched closer to Marie and spoke softly, "Hey, come with us, dear, we'll take care of you. Don't worry. Look, we won't hurt you" Dana removed her helmet and held her hand out to Marie, "Come on, child, let's get you out of the rain." Marie reached up and was lifted into a standing position. Her movement was stiff and weak and Dana wrapped her arm around her to support her.

"Here," Neil said as he took his poncho off and gave it to Dana, "Put it on her. I can walk around in wet armor until we can get her inside. She needs it more than I do."

Dana gently wrapped Marie in the poncho and led her out of the dark alley where Kris was waiting. Kris raised a questioning eyebrow before he put his visor down, ready to finish the patrol. Neil took out his communicator and was talking into it quietly for a moment before he closed it and put it away. "Let's take her to Sophie's; she will take care of her. My uncle will be there soon to make sure she's alright."

**

Marie's thoughts had cleared a little after she had started moving around again. "Neil?" she said weakly as she thought she recognized the voice.

"It's alright Marie, we're going to take you someplace safe, don't worry."

She nodded mutely. She was dead tired and wanted nothing more than to sink down onto anything remotely soft and sleep for days, she wanted to forget everything. She zoned out while they were walking and didn't notice where they were heading. Suddenly she realized the pounding rain had stopped and she was warm. She was in a somewhat shabby hallway, suddenly a rather round woman with a kind smile came around the corner and walked towards her.

"Is this her, Neil?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said taking his arm from around her, Marie never remembered switching from Dana to Neil for support, "This is Marie, is Uncle here yet, Sophie?"

"Oh, the poor dear," Sophie emphasized, "No, he got caught up in an emergency at the hospital, but he will be over as soon as he can. Oh look at you, you're soaking wet. Won't you all come in and warm up?"

"Sorry, Sophie, but we're almost done with our patrol; after than I'm off duty until tonight. I'll finish and come back here once I've cleaned up." Marie watched as the League patrol walked out of the door.

"Well, dear, let's get you dried off shall we? And I'll put you to bed and you will sleep until the doctor comes alright, dear?" Sophie said promptly, Marie thought dimly that she had a strong English accent, but it may have just been her sleep deprivation. She quietly followed the kind older woman into an small but cozy room her wet clothes were taken and she was given a soft night gown of what felt like a mixture fabric of cotton and flannel, it was very comfortable and warm. Sophie returned with a mug if something warm for Marie to drink, it reminded her of tea but had a different after taste. After drinking some of the tea she sank into the bed, it wasn't a soft feathery dream, or comfortable as her own bed, and the sheets were a little scratchy, but Marie didn't care. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

***

Marie had the strangest dream. _She opened her eyes to feel something prodding her stomach and when she looked there was a little llama dancing on her stomach. "Hey, what are you doing? Get off!" she brushed it off and it fell onto the bed "What was that for?"_

"_Awwww now you've made me feel bad, bad llama!" the tiny llama said mock smacking his cheek and turning his head._

"_What the hell?" Marie said looking at the llama. Suddenly she felt icy hands grab her wrist. She tried to jerk her hand away but there was nothing holding her wrist. Her arm was jerked and twisted around without her control, she felt like a puppet with strings of ice. Suddenly the ice melted and she was left falling into a dark abyss._

Marie's eyes snapped open for real and she sat up quickly. She saw the doctor from the hospital smiling kindly at her. "It's about time you woke up, Marie. You've been asleep for over twelve hours. Sophie was beginning to think you slipped into a coma."

Marie took in her surroundings and the painful memories flooded back to her. "Oh. Yeah." She said weakly as she sank back into the pillows.

"Marie, I need you to stay with me for a minute. Does anything hurt you? Anything feel broken or torn? Are you feeling dizzy? Nauseous? Anything?"

"I'm thirsty. I guess" she took a moment to move her arms and legs and twist herself around "No everything else feels fine." She went to brush her hair out of her eyes but twitched her hand away when her fingers brushed the stitches.

"Careful. We had to give you stitches for the cut on your forehead. That area will be a little tender for a day or two." The doctor said handing Marie a cup of water. "Sorry I couldn't bring any Eco for it. We had a huge emergency at the hospital and Green Eco is in short supply right now. Stitches will work fine for you."

Marie took a long drink from the cup and set it down, "Where am I?"

"You're at Sophie's. She runs an orphanage. She started it when the wars started. Children's parents were taken from them to fight in the KG and they were left orphans, Sophie takes care of the children. Since the fall of the Baron, most of the children have returned to their parents, but there are still some without parents"

"Oh." Marie was about to ask more but the buzz of a communicator interrupted her.

"I have to go now, Marie. I want you to sleep and rest. Don't you worry about a thing; Sophie will take care of you. Finish you drink, it will help you sleep without any nightmares. If you want to talk to anyone about anything that's happened, just ask. I will come and check on you when I have the chance." He walked out of the room and left Marie alone. She silently drank the rest of her drugged water. She looked around the room as her eyelids started to get heavy and droop. The room was actually kind of dingy. The paint was peeling off in some places and the carpet was stained, but it was clean and there was some old furniture, a chair, a dresser, an old mirror and her bed. With a heavy sigh Marie sank back into the pillows and fell asleep again.

***

When Marie woke again, she could tell it was night time. Even though her window in her room was covered tightly and no light filtered in, it just felt like it was night time to Marie. There was a lamp next to her bed and it was shaded and the light was dim, but Marie could make out the layout of her room. Silently she got out of bed and walked across the room in her bare feet. She hesitated a little at the door while she tried to remember where she was and who owned the place. Dimly the name Sophie passed through her mind. _Damn drugs, they're got to be messing with my memory._ Marie though angrily as she walked through the door. She found herself at the end of a hallway and doors were on either side of the hall. Marie walked down the hall and a soft light filtered underneath a door at the opposite end of the hall. The door was opened a crack and Marie peered in before entering quietly.

Marie found herself in a large kitchen. A rather round woman was standing at a stove stirring a steaming pot of something and humming to herself. Some kind of meat was frying in a large pan on the burner next to the pot and there was fruit sitting on the counter waiting to be cut up.

"Umm…" Marie said quietly kind of hoping the woman would hear her and hoping the woman wouldn't at the same time.

The woman turned around and smiled at Marie "So you're finally awake?"

Marie nodded mutely and the woman walked over to her wiping her hands on her apron. "I expect you're a little confused aren't you?" Marie nodded again. "Well, let's get you some clothes and you can help me make breakfast and I'll explain."

She led Marie back to her room and searched through the dressed until she pulled out some clothes for her. "These will probably fit you best, dear" she said as she placed them on the bed "Go put them on; the bathroom is over there" she pointed towards a door Marie mistook for a closet, "I'll let some light in, then I'll explain everything." Marie left to change; she didn't even pay attention to what she was wearing. When she came back the lady had opened the shade in her window and Marie saw it was still dark out, but it was getting lighter a little bit.

Back in the kitchen Sophie set Marie to work cutting the fruit. "So, what do you need to know?" she said stirring the glop that reminded Marie of oatmeal.

"Where am I? Who are you? How did I get here? I just need to know… everything!" Marie said.

"Well, I am Sophie. I run an orphanage for young children who have lost their parents because of the war, whether their parents are dead or were drafted. You were brought here when my nephew, Neil, found you on a patrol in the slums. You were beaten and alone in an alley."

"Oh yeah, I remember who you are now. The doctor told me when he was here… when was that?"

"You've only been sleeping for about a day, Neil brought you in yesterday morning, and you slept until the evening, when the doctor was here, and he gave you some drugs to help you sleep again."

"Ah... What time is it? It's still dark outside."

"I'm always up before dawn making breakfast for the children. The earliest risers are up before sunrise. They're all generally young so they all get up early."

"Okay. I get it now."

"Did I answer all your questions? Now it's time for my questions. What happened to you the other night that left you in the alley?"

Marie was quiet for a moment before she spoke up, the painful memories flooded back to her and her voice shook "I-I'll start from the beginning. I was found wandering around an abandoned part of the old city in a dazed shock and I wandered near a site where the League was going to attack the metalheads. I got caught up in the battle I guess, and Neil got me back to safety. The next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital all bandaged up. I was released from the hospital, but I didn't have anywhere to go. So I wandered around. Late in the night I was…. I was gang raped. I stayed out all night in the rain, but I didn't care. Then Neil found me and brought me here. He's saved my life two times already in the past few days. I don't even know him…"

Sophie was shocked onto silence for a minute as she absorbed the information and stirred the food. "But… Marie… Don't you know anything from before that day?"

* * *

Yeah, i don't have much to add that i havent said already. Just Read and Review. I will try and get then next chapter out ASAP, but I've been so busy and I will continue to be busy and I just don't know when I will have the lucky night I don't have a ton of homework. It's just crazy. hahaha. I hope you liked it I eagerly await your reviews and feedback. Hearing from my friends is great, but I love to hear from other people I don't know personally. :D

-Becks


End file.
